FR. RON ROLHEISER, omi

Nikos Kazantzakis, the author of Zorba the Greek, was an extraordinarily complex man, especially religiously. An artist, a searcher, strongly independent, yet a man with a mystical bent, he often found himself involved in painful interior struggles in his relationship to God. Sometimes he would acquiesce in obedience, sometimes he would hold out in proud resistance. His is an interesting story.

FR. RON ROLHEISER, omi

In his last works, just before he died, Henri Nouwen began to speak of how the final task in life is to give one's death to others. We are meant, he says, to give our lives for others, but we are also meant to give our deaths for them. Just as elders must teach the young how to live they are also meant to teach them how to die.

FR. RON ROLHEISER, omi

Recently I received a letter from a woman asking me to explain the Christian teaching about praying for the dead. Her son had been killed in an accident and she had been dissuaded from attending any special prayers for him. Her question: Does it make sense to pray for the dead?

FR. RON ROLHEISER, omi

Something inside us despises the ordinary. Something there is that tells us that ordinary life, with its predictable routines, domestic rhythms, and conscription to duty makes for cheap meaning. Inside us there is the sense that the ordinary can weigh us down, swallow us up, and anchor us outside the more rewarding waters of passion, romance, creativity and celebration.